Asia is the largest continent in both size and population It covers
about 30 percent of the world's land area and has about 60 percent of its people.
Asia extends from Africa and Europe in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east.
The 50 countries of Asia include some of the world's largest and smallest countries in population
In the 1500’s and 1600’s, Europeans began to establish trading outposts in Asia, some of which gradually became colonies. From about 1750, Western European nations began conquering large parts of Asia
After World War II (1939-1945), Asia became a center of the struggle between Communist and non-Communist countries, and fighting broke out in many Asian nations. The Communists succeeded in China and Vietnam, and achieved partial success in Korea.
Other disputes have brought about fighting between many groups of people in Asia. For example, India and Pakistan have never resolved which country controls the territory of Kashmir. As a result of such disputes, some areas of Asia almost continually face wars and threats of wars while trying to solve their other problems.
About 41/4 billion people, or about 60 percent of the world's population, live in Asia. China has more people than any other country in the world, and India has the second largest population. More than one-third of all the people in the world live in these two countries.
The many languages and dialects (local forms of languages) spoken in Asia present a major barrier to communication. In some parts of the continent, the people of one village cannot speak to their neighbors in a village a few miles away. For example, in Madhya Pradesh, one of India's states, the people speak more than 375 languages and dialects.
Southwest Asia covers about 2,756,000 square miles (7,137,000 square kilometers), or 16 percent of the continent. It includes the 7 nations of the Arabian Peninsula and 12 nations north and east of the peninsula.